Skip to main content

FCC makes wireless data roaming mandatory

fcc-julius-Genachowski-wireless-data-roamingThe Federal Communications Commission voted today to adopt new data roaming rules that will allow smartphones to access wireless Internet networks nationwide, in areas not covered by the users’ wireless provider. The functionality would be similar to roaming related to voice and text messaging.

The 3-2 vote, which was held this morning during the FCC’s monthly public meeting, requires large wireless companies like Verizon Wireless and AT&T to offer customers “reasonable” roaming rates.

Recommended Videos

“Mobile providers must be able to offer nationwide voice and data plans to have any chance of competing in today’s market,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. He added that wireless carrier do not currently offer roaming deals “on commercially reasonable terms.”

The new rules were pushed forward by petitions filed with the FCC by smaller wireless carriers, like Sprint Nextel, Leap Wireless and MetroPCS, all of whom argue that Verizon and AT&T’s reluctance to offer roaming access to their 3G and 4G networks hurts their ability to compete. These carriers hope the data roaming rules will increase their ability to offer competitive services to customers.

Rules to increase competition have taken on new weight in the wireless industry with AT&T’s planned $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA. If approved, the AT&T/T-Mobile deal will concentrate 80 percent of wireless customers under only two carriers — AT&T/T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.

The new rules will allow for each wireless company to negotiate their own data roaming deals with AT&T and Verizon. They also allow for the companies to make arrangements to prevent data congestion in high-use areas.

“By adopting a ‘commercially reasonable’ standard for data roaming offers, we give carriers flexibility to tailor agreements to different environments and to account for concerns regarding congestion and technical compatibility,” said Genachowski in a statement.

AT&T and Verizon have both opposed the new rules, arguing that they not only already have sufficient data roaming deals worked out with smaller providers, but that the FCC doesn’t have the authority to impose such rules upon the industry due to the way the wireless Internet is categorized — a point that Republican Commissioners Robert McDowell and Meredith Attwell Baker agree with, causing them to vote against their Democratic counterparts on the matter.

“A data-roaming mandate is unwarranted and will discourage investment,” Robert Quinn, AT&T chief privacy officer and senior vice president of federal regulatory, told Bloomberg in an e-mail today. “Proponents of a roaming mandate were seeking government intervention, not to obtain agreements — which are plentiful — but rather to regulate rates downward.”

“Verizon is not anti-roaming,” Tamara Priess, vice president of federal regulatory affairs for Verizon, told CNet. “We’re anti-regulated roaming.”

The rules are a step forward for President Obama’s National Broadband Plan, which seeks to offer high-speed wireless Internet access nationwide.

Andrew Couts
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Features Editor for Digital Trends, Andrew Couts covers a wide swath of consumer technology topics, with particular focus on…
10 years on and the Apple Watch has defined the smartwatch era
A person wearing the Apple Watch Series 10.

When I put on my Apple Watch Series 10, I’m putting on a watch that’s as recognizable as some of the most iconic watches ever made, and easily the most recognizable smartwatch there is. The Apple Watch celebrates its 10th anniversary on April 24, and while its shape has evolved over all these years, it has never drastically changed, and it’s one of its biggest strengths.
The Apple Watch is an icon

When people think of a dive watch they probably think of a Rolex Submariner or some version of it. Think of a pilot’s watch, and something like the IWC Mark series may come to mind, while the rugged watch space is dominated by the original Casio G-Shock DW-5600 and its square case. Ask a child to draw a sports car, and whatever they draw it will end up red, because the definitive sports car in many people's mind is a Ferrari. Whether due to a certain shape or a specific design motif, all these are considered the definitive silhouettes in their respective spaces.

Read more
My main computer is an M4 iPad Pro, but a 2021 iPad still surprises me
Rear shell of 2021 iPad Pro.

This might sound controversially ridiculous, but for the past few years, my primary computer has been an iPad Pro. I first got interested in pushing tablets this way when the M1 version came out, and I’ve kept using them all the way up to the newest M4-powered model. 

A few weeks ago, I went back to my M1 iPad Pro to see how well it handles next-gen apps that are pushing the boundaries of graphics and AI on a mobile device. So, the big question is whether the four-year-old slate can still serve as a reliable workhorse in 2025?

Read more
Expert reveals the phones AI fans need to push Gemini & ChatGPT to the limit
Person holding a phone depicting Micron's UFS 4.1 storage module.

One of the most obvious — and honestly, the dullest —trends within the smartphone industry over the past couple of years has been the incessant talk about AI experiences. Silicon warriors, in particular, often touted how their latest mobile processor would enable on-device AI processes such as video generation.

We’re already there, albeit not completely. Amidst all the hype show with hit-and-miss AI tricks for smartphone users, the debate barely ever went beyond the glitzy presentations about the new processors and ever-evolving chatbots.

Read more